Safe coastal towns in SW Washington (Seattle, Olympia: sales, oceanfront, apartment)

[ServoMiff]

With all of this virus stuff going full bore and my employer now saying that once the state gets opened back up that it might take a year to get back to "normal" and not everyone will be expected to come back into the office full-time, I'm wondering if it makes sense to downgrade our home from an expensive apartment in Seattle to a coastal home in a safe town with good internet somewhat in between Portland and Seattle, ideally not far from an Amtrak station.

Looking for an area right along the water with a good view that wouldn't be too much over $300k for a 3/2. Open to condos if HOA fees aren't outrageous. Might consider using as a vacation property if I end up going back to my office eventually and then use it as our retirement home, renting it when we're not visiting there before we hit that age.

Does such an area exist?

[Hemlock140]

The Amtrak routes Seattle-Portland are more inland, roughly following I5. The homes with views in the price range you are looking for are available, but to be coastal means at least an hour drive. For example, live in the Raymond/South Bend area, drive an hour to Centralia for Amtrak. Another, live in Long Beach, WA and drive to Kelso, 90 minutes. The Amtrak Coast Starlight doesn't go near the actual coast until it gets to central California.

[ServoMiff]

Originally Posted by Hemlock140

The Amtrak routes Seattle-Portland are more inland, roughly following I5. The homes with views in the price range you are looking for are available, but to be coastal means at least an hour drive. For example, live in the Raymond/South Bend area, drive an hour to Centralia for Amtrak. Another, live in Long Beach, WA and drive to Kelso, 90 minutes. The Amtrak Coast Starlight doesn't go near the actual coast until it gets to central California.

A 60-90 minute drive to the station is fine, better than 3 hours to an airport. Mostly concerned with the best place along the coast to live should we decide to go that route.

[Diana Holbrook]

I think given Washington's unique geography, we need to be careful to define our terms precisely when we say "coastal". For this part I would pull out the map and take a look:

https://goo.gl/maps/d1ZWmhbofdZhFLeS7

Because of Puget Sound, this state has a WIDE selection of saltwater waterfront properties - more than most! - But locals would not refer to Puget Sound as "coastal". Coastal means on the ocean.

And along that line, there are not many waterfront places on Puget Sound for under $300K anymore, but if there are any to be found, they may be found in the rural Key Peninsula areas between Bremerton and Belfair, Allyn, Lakebay, or Shelton. Also perhaps along Hood Canal. These areas are a LONG way from Amtrack, and the only remotely reasonable way to commute to Seattle from there would be via the Bremerton ferry.

As others said, Amtrack service runs pretty much up and down the I-5 corridor.

Coastal here, means the ocean..... and on the ocean, there are many small towns, and some have a lot of appeal. Aberdeen is the biggest city that might be considered remotely coastal. It comes with some caution because the economy there is pretty depressed. It's not unsafe to go to for shopping, but it probably isn't the utopian coastal existance you're dreaming of. Ocean Shores, Westport, Long Beach and Ilwaco are all areas that would better fit the definition of cute coastal towns. And pretty safe. Touristy in summer, yet still pretty affordable to live, and I think you could find an oceanfront place within your budget in one of those areas.... but take a look at them on a map! They are a long ways from anywhere, and it's not even easy to get from one to another, because of the unique geographies of long spits and big bays.

None of them would be great places to be if you had to ever commute to somewhere else. They are destinations. And they are nowhere near any commuter train.

And with any oceanfront property, especially those on the long peninsula beaches, there's the risk of Tsunamis, but perhaps that should be topic for another post.

[elkotronics]

And with any oceanfront property, especially those on the long peninsula beaches, there's the risk of Tsunamis, but perhaps that should be topic for another post.

Anyone know off the top of their head when the last time a tsunami wave hit the Washington coast? I can't think of it ever happening. There's a bad one that hit Crescent City, CA, in the early-mid 60's that did a fair amount of damage to that coastal California town.

[Diana Holbrook]

It's as rare as earthquakes are... the severe ones. They don't happen frequently in the lives of people, but they're pretty regular and predictable in the lives of planets.

If you're a few to several miles from any high ground, up on the long beach peninsula, and there's tsunami evacuation route signs everywhere, and you've seen the footage from Japan from a few years ago... it's something people think about.

I'm not sure it would stop me from wanting to live there, but I would want to make sure I got notifications quickly - and had a plan to get out quickly in a pinch.

[Ruth4Truth]

Yeah, OP, your knowledge of WA State geography needs some improvement. But I see you're flexible in your definition of "nearby" Amtrak station.

You could look around near Willapa Bay: South Bend and Raymond. Very affordable. Olympia is about an hour away. But be aware that the area gets more rain than the Seattle area. So does Olympia, for that matter. Those towns aren't "beachfront", but they're on the Willapa River, and IMO aren't as run-down as Aberdeen. Raymond has some interesting museums, and a couple of art galleries and coffee shops. There's actually a "there, there".

IDK how long you'd be planning to live in your "coastal" or semi-coastal area, but IMO you wouldn't want beachfront, as in: sea-level beachfront, if you're planning to be there longer than 20 years or so. Sea level rise would really impact your RE.

Also consider the Olympic Peninsula: Port Townsend and Sequim, unless you've already ruled those out, for whatever reason. Pt T has properties at an elevation over the Strait, with sea-level beach/park access in the neighborhood. Those properties might be out of your price range, though. But there are properties within your price range, that are near beaches. They won't be in your range for long, though, so make your move if you're going to, if you think Pt T might be attractive to you.

[ServoMiff]

Originally Posted by Ruth4Truth

Yeah, OP, your knowledge of WA State geography needs some improvement. But I see you're flexible in your definition of "nearby" Amtrak station.

You could look around near Willapa Bay: South Bend and Raymond. Very affordable. Olympia is about an hour away. But be aware that the area gets more rain than the Seattle area. So does Olympia, for that matter. Those towns aren't "beachfront", but they're on the Willapa River, and IMO aren't as run-down as Aberdeen. Raymond has some interesting museums, and a couple of art galleries and coffee shops. There's actually a "there, there".

IDK how long you'd be planning to live in your "coastal" or semi-coastal area, but IMO you wouldn't want beachfront, as in: sea-level beachfront, if you're planning to be there longer than 20 years or so. Sea level rise would really impact your RE.

Also consider the Olympic Peninsula: Port Townsend and Sequim, unless you've already ruled those out, for whatever reason. Pt T has properties at an elevation over the Strait, with sea-level beach/park access in the neighborhood. Those properties might be out of your price range, though. But there are properties within your price range, that are near beaches. They won't be in your range for long, though, so make your move if you're going to, if you think Pt T might be attractive to you.

Ruled those out because of price considerations.

Hadn't thought about Tsunami risk, but you're right in that I don't know my geography that well here - just arrived in January, so I haven't really even had a chance to get out and explore much since lockdown started mere 6-7 weeks after we arrived and got settled in our new apartment.

We were thinking to take advantage of both the WA no income tax and the OR no sales tax that living near water closer to the border would be our ideal, as we're both rather frugal.

[mayfair]

Since you mentioned good internet- be sure to check the individual property you choose and ideally have more than one provider available in case one turns out to slow or unreliable. Also check cell service, if you plan on using a cell hotspot for internet. When you go to outlying areas, these can't be taken for granted. One address might have cable internet, but the next house down not have it.

[Ruth4Truth]

Originally Posted by ServoMiff

Ruled those out because of price considerations.

Hadn't thought about Tsunami risk, but you're right in that I don't know my geography that well here - just arrived in January, so I haven't really even had a chance to get out and explore much since lockdown started mere 6-7 weeks after we arrived and got settled in our new apartment.

We were thinking to take advantage of both the WA no income tax and the OR no sales tax that living near water closer to the border would be our ideal, as we're both rather frugal.

There are some nice homes in Raymond and South Bend, well within your budget, so IDK what you mean by, "because of price considerations". Depends on how big a place you're looking for, but you said a condo would be oak. You can get a 2-3 br. house in those Willapa River/Bay towns in your price range. It's a small RE market there, though, so you have to wait and catch it at the right moment for the nicer places to come up on the listings.

I have no idea about internet service there, though.